Marketing and Branding Keynote Speaker, Former CMO at Beats by Dre, and Former VP Marketing at Apple.

Omar Johnson is a marketing and branding keynote speaker, entrepreneur, former CMO at Beats by Dre, and former VP Marketing at Apple. At Beats Electronics, Johnson was responsible for brand development, advertising, retail experience, entertainment / sports marketing, and digital marketing for all global brand marketing and advertising efforts. Adweeknamed Johnson a “Brand Genius” in 2013, and Business Insider named him one of the “Most Innovative CMOs” in 2016.

Under Johnson’s tenure, Beats grew from $180 million to a $1.1 billion dollar global icon and category leader, becoming the #1 premium headphone in North America, UK, France, Germany, South Korea and Singapore.

Johnson drove explosive growth in the headphone category through groundbreaking campaigns including #ShowYourColor Solo Campaign, Powerbeats starring LeBron James and The Pills featuring Chris Rock and Eminem. He used “ambush marketing” and influencers to expand the brand—giving athletes and musicians free headphones at private company parties—which helped turn Beats into the headphone of choice for the best musicians and athletes in the world.

Previously, Johnson led innovative marketing programs for international brands such as Nike, Coca-Cola, Kraft Foods, and Campbell Soup. As an advertising lead at Nike, Johnson produced some of Nike’s most memorable TV commercials including “Rise,” starring LeBron James, “All Together Now,” featuring Kobe Bryant, and “The Most Valuable Puppets”.

Johnson also built the Nike+ sports music platform, establishing Nike’s first revenue-generating relationship with record labels. Johnson and his team created an industry-first sports music program with Universal, Interscope, Sony, Capitol, Def Jam and more than 25 independent labels. This collaboration sold +5 Million tracks and deepened the connection between music and sports.

Johnson is from Brooklyn, NY. He received a BS in Biology and Chemistry from Georgia State University and an MBA from Goizueta Business School at Emory University.